President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image: Zwelethemba Kostile / Parliament of RSA
Political parties have said that while President Cyril Ramaphosa is fully entitled to pursue legal action against the Section 89 Independent Panel report on Phala Phala, that should not hinder Parliament’s Impeachment Committee.
After the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly’s December 2022 decision to block a Section 89 inquiry into the Phala Phala scandal was unconstitutional and invalid, Ramaphosa said that he would be challenging the report.
An independent panel report had found that the president had a serious case to answer regarding his handling of the saga, which relates to the February 2020 theft of over US$580,000 allegedly hidden in furniture at his private game farm, Phala Phala.
Ramaphosa described the report as flawed and said he disagreed with its findings that there was prima facie evidence that he had violated his oath of office.
The Concourt’s ruling triggered the formation of an Impeachment Committee, whose members were announced late on Monday by Parliament.
Parliament spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, said: “The Speaker of the National Assembly has received the names of members from political parties who will serve on the Impeachment Committee.
“The deadline for the submission of names by political parties was Friday, May 22, 2026. Almost all political parties met the deadline, except the ANC, which indicated that it would submit its names over the weekend. The ANC has since submitted its nominees,” Mothapo said.
GOOD Party and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) will not participate, as each party has only one member in Parliament, who also serves in Cabinet.
Committee members are:
DA's Federal Leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers.
DA Federal Leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, who was speaking at the sidelines of the DA’s voter registration campaign in the Western Cape, said that Ramaphosa “got to pursue his legal rights”.
“He's fully entitled to do that. We'll see what happens with that process. I see that he has started that process already. But that is a process that could take some time.
“To my mind, the work of the committee must continue. It's got a long work programme. It has a lot to do. It should not be unnecessarily delayed,” Hill-Lewis said.
MK Party Chief Whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi, said that the party's position has always been very clear.
“The filing of a legal review by the president does not suspend Parliament's constitutional obligation. The Section 89 process is a parliamentary process. It's not a presidential process, and Parliament cannot simply fold its hands every time a sitting president approaches the courts.
“The president is fully entitled to exercise his legal rights as any citizen would. However, that cannot become a mechanism to delay or frustrate accountability,” Mokoena-Zondi said.
“Parliament remains constitutionally obligated to satisfy itself whether there are sufficient grounds for impeachment proceedings, and that responsibility exists independently of any ongoing litigation unless a competent court specifically orders otherwise. And at this stage, there has been no indication that the president has obtained any interdict preventing Parliament from proceeding.
“So in the absence of such an order, the committee must continue its work without fear or favour because South Africans deserve accountability, they deserve transparency, and certainty from their democratic institutions,” Mokoena-Zondi said.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party's chief whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi, in the National Assembly.
Image: MK Party
ANC’s Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli.
Image: Phando Jikelo / Parliament RSA
Build One South Africa spokesperson Roger Solomons said: “If President Ramaphosa maintains his innocence, then the appropriate course of action is clear. He must subject himself fully to Parliament’s Impeachment Committee and allow the process to reach its conclusion without unnecessary obstruction or prolonged legal diversion.
“Parliament’s impeachment process must proceed without obstruction.”
NCC's leader, Fadiel Adams, said: “While we agree that the president is entitled to pursue whatever legal channels are available to him, the NCC urges the president to consider the interests of the country above all.
“If indeed Ramaphosa has nothing to hide, he should avail himself to the committee and allow the process to flow unhindered,” Adams said.
ANC Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, said: “Given the fact that the president had launched a legal review of the Section 89 panel report, it is inevitable that Parliament must reflect on that in the context of its rules and procedures.
“The legal team of Parliament should be seized with the implications and provide legal guidance to the Impeachment Committee. These are legal processes and must be handled in that context as opposed to political posturing.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za